The Twilight's Last Gleaming
by ifandonlyif
Summary: For the Clique Summer OneShot Contest. Derrick sees his dream girl once a year, and she thinks he's slimy.


_Ok, so... This is my entry for a clique summer oneshot challenge by Katie (city never sleeps). It is really long (and I was too lazy to edit all of it, so apologies for any major mistakes). I got the idea when my cousin was telling me about a book she was reading called One Day_. _So I wrote this about every year on the 4th of July, from when they have just finished 2nd grade to when they have just finished grade school. Anyway, here goes. Major props if you get through the whole thing... Haha, enjoy!_

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><p>4th of July, 2004<p>

"Oh-ohhhh sayy can you seeeeeeeee, by the daawn's ear-ly liiiiiiiiiiight" Massie Block's father and his drunken coworkers bellowed out, causing her to shrink even farther down in her already-too-big seat. This was torture, the same thing every year. Typical Mr. Block throwing his company 4th of July barbecue. There would be great food, fireworks, and tons of merriment… for everyone over the age of thirty.

Of which Massie Block was one of the only two who weren't.

And it wasn't like that pesky little Harrington boy was much better company. He picked his nose, always had on some sort of dirty soccer jersey, and could never seem to stop pestering her on the playground.

Sigh.

Crossing her arms and pouting unbecomingly, Massie swung her short little legs back and forth, back and forth, back and forth until her mother Kendra finally couldn't stand it and allowed her to be excused.

She jumped up quickly and ran to the garden on the far side of the house. With each stride, the adult chatter from the barbecue faded, much to her relief. In a week she and her four best friends would be camping in the great woods of Vermont. The Lyons' were going to take them, and they were going to use _real tents. _And have a _real campfire._ Massie had never done either of those things, and she was so excited. _Just one more week…_

When she got to the garden, her special place, she pulled out the watering can and got to work without any regard for her summer party dress. Gardening was her new hobby, and she took complete pride in the way the flowers had grown, the white daisies, red roses, and blue rhododendrons all the product of her hard work and dedication. Surrounding the patriotic display were black-eyed susans and hyacinths. Imapatients and pansies got their own areas, as well as marigolds. Morning glories grew up a trellis, and she even had a few vegetables growing.

Her mom had wanted nothing to do with the garden, assuming that Massie would grow out of her gardening phase before the summer was over (and she was probably right), but Inez had been so excited about her sudden interest that she helped plan the whole thing out. The rest though, Massie could take complete credit for. What else was she supposed to do with her time when her parents were entertaining and holding functions?

She hummed a merry tune, skipping along the little pathways in between flower patches. Each and every flower would get its fair share of water and loving care. She was halfway done with the black-eyed susans when she felt a sharp tug on the left one of her perky pigtails.

Whirling around with the watering can extended in her right hand, it made contact with a stunned Derrick, who stumbled back a few steps. Growing angrier by the second as she realized who the culprit was she glared at him angrily before glancing at the three-quarters full watering can and back at his aggravatingly apologetic green eyes. Then, without further hesitation, she emptied the contents on his head. His red and blue Spain world cup jersey was soaked through in mere seconds, and his curly blonde hair became flat and lifeless. As he sputtered, she managed to escape, silently promising the rest of her flowers that she would return.

* * *

><p>July 4th, 2005<p>

"What so prouuuuud-ly we hailed, at the twiiiliiights last gleaaaminnnnng" The sound was only slightly off tune, but the rambunctiousness of the group was still annoying. The second they finished the song, Massie began plotting her escape.

She strategically spilled her drink all over an executive wife's horrible outfit, and then used her charm and youth to play it off as an accident. Kendra saw right through her, but must have agreed on the ugliness of the woman's suit, because she let Massie off with a warning and allowed her to leave the barbecue.

In just one week, Massie and her best friends would be off to swimming camp, where they would live in tents with other girls their age and learn to swim in a lake. The trip with the Lyons' last summer had been so fun that the girls all agreed to do something similar again… but this time sans parents. It was going to be great. _Just one more week…_

Massie crept over to the tree house that had been built that spring. It overlooked her garden, which she still tended to diligently. Inez had even used some of her vegetables for salads, the only salads Massie would willingly eat. Her tree house was built sturdily, and had a wide window that would be perfect for watching the fireworks.

Remembering to pull up the rope ladder, Massie grinned at the thought of finally being alone. A slight breeze blew by the window, and she stuck her elbows on the sill, listening to the faint chatter from the party.

She didn't know how long she'd been there, watching the clouds pass and enjoying the view of her flourishing garden below, before she heard a loud _THUNK_ followed by a distinctly boyish "OWWW!"

She leaned half her body out the window to get a good view of who was below her, and saw an Argentina soccer jersey with a big number 10 on the back. He let out an "oomph," and turned over slowly, causing Massie to roll her eyes.

"What do you want?" her normally sweet voice called out in annoyance. "I pulled up the ladder. It should be clear that I want to be AHLONE."

Now lying on his back, his brown eyes shone with amusement and a tad bit of little boy mischievousness.

"Yea, I noticed the ladder was gone. I tried to climb the tree, but it didn't work out so well. But if you really wanted to be left alone you wouldn't have come to the window in the first place. You would have hid in the back and pretended not to be here until I went away." He smirked in a _gotcha!_ way, and Massie had to admit, he was a bit clever. Just not in the way he thought he was.

She shrugged her shoulders and retreated back into the far corners of the treehouse.

"Wait, Massie! That's not what I meant! I thought you wanted to talk to me! Massie, come back, please! Oh, darn," his borderline desperate voice was annoying, but she took his advice and just ignored it until he went away.

When he finally stopped hollering up at her, she heard a thud against the tree trunk and an "Ow!" from Derrick. She had to hand it to him, she thought as she heard him running away, at least he was dedicated. Dedicated enough to punch a tree, it seemed.

* * *

><p>July 4th, 2006<p>

"Whose broad striiipes and bright staaaaars, through the perrrriiilouuus fight," the group sang out, laughing and joking as always. Massie rolled her eyes, fighting the urge to lay her head down on the table and cover her ears.

It wasn't like anyone was paying attention to Massie anyway. She could easily slip away… If only her mother weren't right next to her; surely no one else would notice her absence.

No one, that is, except the little rascal five tables over who was staring at her so intently that she could feel his gaze. What was his problem? Thankfully they had not been in the same class at school that year, but not enough time had passed since his antics at the company's Winter Holidays party for her to not be annoyed at the sight of him.

When Kendra excused herself to go to the bathroom, Massie smiled politely at the rest of the ladies at the table before making her escape. In just one week, she'd be on her way to theater camp with her four best friends, where they would get to help write and star in their very own play. Massie hadn't been the type that longed to be a movie star, but still, acting camp could be fun. At the very least, it'd be better than being stuck in Westchester for the summer. _Just one more week…_

She ran around to the side of the house, where her flourishing garden and homey tree house hid away from all the grownups. The addition to her play yard this year was a ping pong table that stood green and proud off to the side. She was not at all surprised when Derrick showed up just seconds later; she had known he was watching her every move and would slip away when she did.

"Can we play?" he asked eagerly, his eyes begging Massie for permission.

"Uh, I guess," she replied, reaching into the box under the table and pulling out two paddles and a ball. After handing him one, she took her own paddle and bounced the lightweight ball against it before sending him a killer serve.

"Whoa," he exclaimed, shocked, as the ball bounced in his left corner and off the table before he had time to blink. He didn't bother to retrieve the ball, instead opting to stare at her in awe. At least she thought that's what it was. She didn't take the time to find out for sure; she just wished he would get the ball already so they could keep playing.

Getting impatient, she huffed and went to fetch the ball, dropping it in his hand and rolling her eyes before returning to her side of the table and tapping her foot until he served it.

They played back and forth for a while, and finally settled into a rhythm such that Massie was only beating him marginally. She could tell that he was really trying, and she decided she might actually be enjoying herself. Just as the thought crossed her mind though, the ball came flying through the air and hit her square on the eye. It wasn't exactly the hardest hit ball, and she managed to blink, but it was enough to shatter the peace they'd created with the simple _ping! pong! _of the ball.

"Are you alright?" He rushed to her side, as she held her hand over her eye and grimaced.

"Do I look alright?" She replied snarkily, more so than necessary. She wasn't actually hurt, it just felt a little funny, but she was ready to be done with him. "OW!" She moved away from having him touch her; after all, everyone knew boys had cooties.

"I'm really sorry," he pleaded, "I swear it was an accident!"

"I know," she growled back, "so you're just clumsy. Great." She stomped off towards the house where she knew Inez would fuss over her, ignoring the apology cries from Derrick echoing behind her.

* * *

><p>July 4th, 2007<p>

"O'er the raaaaamparts we watched," her father was especially out of it this year, "were so gaaallantlyyy streaaaming." She didn't like watching him sing, ever, but especially not when he was wobbly and slurring words, and a making much bigger fool out of himself than necessary.

Kendra, sensing Massie's discomfort around the drunk adults, let her go right away, without Massie even having to ask. Thankful, Massie treated Kendra to a quick, rare hug before excusing herself from the table.

In a week, Massie would be off to horseback riding camp with her four best friends, plus Brownie. She could not wait to spend a full three weeks only thinking about horses, and learning more than trotting and turning. Her friends had never ridden before and would be in a lower level class, but she had promised to help them, and she would. Once they finally got there, of course. _Just one more week…_

She kicked off her mary janes and ran to the swing that now hung from one of the branches of the tree-house tree. She was resigned to the fact that Derrick would be right behind her, as he'd been eyeing her all evening, _again_. His face had looked protective almost, but she couldn't be sure. She never knew what to make of that boy, except to know he was probably getting out of the barbecue right now himself. At the very least, she would put him to work.

"Push me," she ordered when she felt his presence behind her, and didn't have to turn around to know that he had a surprised look on his face. "I know, you were trying to surprise me, now just do it before I change my mind and chase you out of here."

"Alright, alright," he replied hastily and began to push. In seconds Massie was flying high, enjoying the wind in her hair and wiggling her toes. He pushed her higher and faster than she was accustomed to, and she thought about being scared before deciding that she liked how far she could see from high up.

She allowed herself to let out a "wheeeeeeeeeeeee!" before looking down to see Derrick with the goofiest grin on his face.

"What are you so happy about?" She asked accusingly, her eyebrows scrunched together, staring down at him.

He quickly composed his face and resumed his pushing duties, not answering right away.

"Ok. Fine. Don't tell me. It's not like I actually care," she huffed, and returned to enjoying the ride. She threw her head back and let her hair dangle down toward the ground, and it accidentally whacked Derrick in the face on the next back-and-forth, causing him to step away and cough a bit.

"Sorry," she called over her shoulder, meaning it, and sat up straighter, letting the swing naturally slow to a stop, which took a while. By the time her feet finally dragged in the dirt, she decided she would put up with and be civil to Derrick for the rest of the night.

She hopped off the swing and walked over to where he was sitting against the base of the tree.

"Do you want a turn? I'll push you," she offered, then wished she hadn't. She didn't want to have to push him on the swing; he was a lot heavier than she was, and she was a lot weaker than he was.

"No thanks," he replied, quieter than normal. Not knowing what else to do, Massie went and sat down next to him against the tree trunk. There were a few awkward moments that they sat in silence, and Massie hated awkward moments. She could feel him staring at her profile, but refused to put in the small effort it would take to turn her head 90 degrees to meet his gaze.

Instead, she jumped up, clapped her hands, and exclaimed, "let's watch the clouds!"

She ran out from under the tree to where she would have a clear view of the sky and plopped down on the grass to gaze at the white fluffy clods that were passing by. As she assumed, Derrick was by her side in the grass in no time.

"You wanted to know why I was smiling earlier?" Derrick asked, and Massie just shrugged. "It's cause it makes me happy to see you really happy."

Massie scoffed, and let out a "yea, right!"

"It's true!" he insisted, causing Massie to blush lightly at the thought.

"Look," she pointed, changing the subject, "that cloud looks like a fish!" She giggled at the perfectly shaped white blob and brought her arm back down to rest in between them.

She felt his hand on hers before she registered what happened. He was looking at her timidly, his hand clasping hers as if their lives were being threatened. She turned her head to look at him, gave a faint smile, and turned her head back up to the sky. His grasp loosened and she thought for a brief moment that this was comfortable.

They stayed there the rest of the evening, discussing how they were both going to different private schools next year, and anything and everything else they could think of. As the sun set and the stars came out and the fireworks boomed overhead, they lay in the grass, hand in hand.

* * *

><p>July 4th, 2008<p>

"And the rocket's red glaaaaaaaaaaaare, the bombs bursting in aiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiir," the adults all sang out, but for once instead of wallowing, Massie was super alert. Of course, not to the national anthem, which she wouldn't be able to compare to any of the other years, if asked. No, her attention was set on the boy that sat immediately to the left of the one she had been forced to put up with her ten previous years of life. No, this boy was new, and he and Derrick had been whispering the whole time they'd been here.

She first noticed mystery boy when she glance over to Derrick's table to find out why he wasn't ogling her as usual. Well, the answer came in the form of the cutest boy she had ever laid eyes on. He had light brown hair with bright blue eyes, and one dimple on his right cheek. She felt strangely drawn to him, and it made her blush. She'd never really noticed any boy the same way before.

At OCD, her new private school, she never interacted with guys. The most popular girls, the Ahnnabees, always talked about how they had boys following them around all day. The only boy Massie could think of that had ever done that to her was slimy old Derrick, although he had admittedly been better the last summer. But at the company Christmas party he had brought a different friend who was totally gross and perverted. This was a definite upgrade.

Their parents excused them all at the same time, knowing they would all want to play together. The boys walked over to meet her at her table, and politely said hello to Kendra and the other wives of the company's more prestigious members. Then they were free.

Massie was so focused on this new boy that she didn't even stop to think about how in just one week, she'd be off at sailing camp with the girls. She was perfectly fine living in the moment.

"Hi!" said the cute boy once they were farther away from the grown-ups. "My name's Plovert."

Massie scrunched up her nose at this. Who in their right mind would name their kid Plovert?

"His name is Chris," Derrick explained, noting her confusion, "but we call him Plovert 'cause that's his last name." Massie nodded, relieved. Chris was a nice, good name. Cute boys deserved good names.

"So Chris, do you go to Briarwood?" Massie asked sweetly as they walked around the house to her yard.

He shared a look with Derrick before answering. "Yea, I do, we're in the same class. But I told you, you should call me Plovert."

He was starting to sound annoyed, but she wasn't about to be coerced into calling him such a strange name.

"Well, I like Chris better. So I'm going to call you that, take it or leave it." She flounced off ahead of them, admiring her garden before emerging on the other side of it to where the boys were waiting.

"Uh, I guess you can just call me Chris then," he smiled shyly at her, and Massie shot him a toothy grin back.

"Echem, so. What do you want to do?" Derrick asked Massie, tearing her gaze away from Chris and putting it on himself. Massie shrugged, not having thought it through. There were no new additions to the yard this year, and they couldn't exactly play ping pong with three people.

"I know," she clapped her hands, "truth or dare!" It was such a big-kid thing to do, she heard the sixth grade girls talking about it all the time. She didn't really want to kiss either of them (eew! gross!), but she did want to know Chris a bit better.

"Uchhh," Derrick and Chris let out at once, "that is such a girly thing to do!" But Massie just worked her pouty face, and like always, it had the desired effect.

They sat in a triangle in the grass, and the boys looked at Massie expectantly. She had a pretty good idea of how this was supposed to go, but she'd never played before, so she just had to wing it.

"Derrick." She picked him first, seeing as she knew him best. "Truth or dare?"

He shared a look with Chris before deciding, "dare."

"Alright. Do you know of Skye Hamilton?" Both boys widened their eyes and shared another look. Skye was the prettiest girl in Westchester, and she had just finished eighth grade, two years older than Massie and the boys. Massie chuckled at their reactions. "I have her cellphone number in my sidekick. I want you to call her, using *69, of course, and make kissy noises into the phone." She smirked as she watched his cheeks turn red. "Oh, and you have to tell her who you are." She smirked evilly, and Chris chuckled, punching his shoulder.

"You just wish you got to talk to Skye," Derrick shot back, and it was Chris' turn to blush. Massie felt disappointed, but didn't let it bother her too much. Any boy in Westchester would want the opportunity to talk to Skye Hamilton.

Derrick dialed and put it on speakerphone.

"Hello?" Skye's confident voice rang through the speaker, sounding a little impatient, but a tad bit intrigued as well.

"H-hey, Skye," Derrick started, looking at Massie for guidance, so she motioned for him to keep going. "This is Derrick. Uh, yea." He looked at Chris, who was silently cracking up. "Here goes," he mumbled quietly, before making kissy noises into the phone.

Chris and Massie made eye contact and after that they both lost it. Massie couldn't stop laughing, and unlike Chris, she wasn't able to keep it silent. Derrick was glaring at her, and she motioned to him that he could hang up. By then, Chris was guffawing as well.

Massie was rolling on the grass clutching my stomach when Derrick finally spoke. "I guess that was a good one, Mass. Embarrassing, but at least I can say I've talked to Skye Hamilton," he grinned at Chris who was just managing to catch his breath. "Anyway, my turn. So, Massie," he shot her an amused look, "truth or dare?"

She didn't miss a beat before answering, "truth!" She didn't want to risk any sort of dare retaliation.

"Hmm." He tapped his fingers against his chin, as if deep in thought. "Well," he asked timidly after some thought, "what do you truly think of me?" Once it was out he looked mortified and like he wanted to take it back which she found somewhat endearing.

"Sure you can handle the truth?" She asked playfully, raising her eyebrows. "Well, to be honest, I've always sort of thought of you as a slimy sort of squirrely little wimp who is just such a nuisance," she rolled her eyes for good measure, enjoying teasing him. But once she saw his hurt expression, she was quick to add, "of course, you've changed a bit over these last few years, haven't you. I think I can safely say I'm willing to put up with you now. I might even be persuaded to go so far as to call you a cool guy."

This time he caught the lighthearted grin, and smiled back full on. Suddenly unsure of why he was looking at her that way, Massie quickly turned to Chris.

"Truth or dare, Christopher?" She asked chipperly, dissolving the awkward moment.

"After what you asked D to do, I think I'll go with truth," he gave her a charming grin, causing her to giggle.

"Alright then. Similar question to Derrick's, what do you think of me? First impression good, bad, or what?" She didn't know what had compelled her to ask that, maybe it was her sparkly eyes. But in her Massie way, she played it off like she just couldn't think of another question and didn't really care about the answer.

Chris stole a quick glance at a reddening Derrick before answering. "I guess I think you're pretty cool for a girl, and you're not always following me around and being annoying like other girls do, and you're sorta pretty," he replied, not pausing or blushing or taking back what he said, "so yea. I'd say a pretty good first impression."

"Really?" She fought hard to keep the squeak of excitement out of her voice. From Chris's amused grin and Derrick's scowl, she realized she must have been unsuccessful.

They played on a few more rounds, everyone picking truth both to learn more about each other and to prevent any super embarrassing moments. Then they just talked for the rest of the evening, Chris and Massie getting into more in depth conversations with Derrick being less and less involved.

Massie wasn't sure how it happened exactly, but by the time the fireworks were booming overhead, Chris had his arm around her and Derrick had excused himself to the bathroom and hadn't come back. At the moment she couldn't think about Derrick and whatever his problem was, because Chris smelled to good and his much longer arms wrapped around her body, making her feel safe.

* * *

><p>July 4th, 2009<p>

"Gave prooooof through the niiiiiight, that our flag was still theeeeeeeere," the businessmen sang as Massie made a mental note that the second she turned 18, she would boycott all Block Enterprises events. But alas, she had only just finished 7th grade, and was now considered old enough to sit at the table the whole meal and speak with the wives. If she had to talk about how much she loved OCD one more time, she would puke.

In a week, she would be headed to Paris with the girls and Merri Lee, for what was sure to be one of the best summer trips they had taken. _Just one more week_…

She looked around for Derrick, wondering if he was somewhere enduring the same pain of sitting through all the toasts and speeches and such. But he was nowhere to be found. After, as many of the tables mingled and chatted the way upperclass women do, she made a point of running into Mrs. Harrington.

"Oh, Massie darling, so wonderful to see you!" She exclaimed, managing not to sound snooty or condescending. "You must be wondering where Derrick is. Well, he's at a soccer camp in Pennsylvania with his friends from school and unfortunately has to miss this year's barbecue."

"Oh, that's alright," Massie flashed Mrs. Harrington a charming smile, "I hope he's having fun!

After she had mingled long enough to please Kendra, she slipped into the house and up to her room. There was a pool being constructed in her play yard, and she couldn't stand to be out there with all the construction equipment and cement blocks lying around. She sucked it up once a day to water her flowers, but other than that, she'd spent more time in her room this summer than all the past summers of her life combined.

As she lied on her bed with the air conditioning on full blast, she reflected that this would probably go down in history as her most boring 4th of July ever. Stuck in her room completely alone… pathetic. At least in other years, even if she'd been annoyed by him, she'd had Derrick.

She found herself missing him, and didn't bother to question the sudden change. They hadn't talked very much over the past year, and he'd avoided her at the holiday party. She suspected it had something to do with the fact that she was going strong with Chris, and he might have felt third wheel-ish, especially having been the one to introduce them.

Having a real boyfriend, coupled with her great fashion sense and amazing friends, had made her admired among the 7th graders. The Ahnnabees had been knocked down a peg on the totem pole of middle school popularity, but it wasn't even like Massie meant for it to happen it just did. She had gained the respect of Skye Hamilton who she still greatly admired, and she and her friends were adored, not feared by their public. But she and Chris had mutually broken up recently, deciding that they were better off as friends.

She grabbed the remote to her bose sound system off of her night stand and turned on some Black Eyed Peas. I Gotta Feeling started playing through the speakers, and she couldn't help laughing. Tonight might be pretty boring, she figured, but soon enough she'd be in a foreign country meeting cute boys with accents. She stretched out on the bed, staring at the ceiling. She realized that there wasn't much in life she could complain about. But it wouldn't hurt if Derrick was with her.

* * *

><p>July 4th, 2010<p>

"Oh say does tha-at star spangled bahan-neher ye-et ," the familiar anthem rang out. "O'er the laaaand of the ," A little _too_ free, Massie thought bitterly as William and his coworkers finished up their annual ritual, "and the home of thehhhhhhhhhhhhhh braaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyve!"

This time, William wasn't even on tune. The others managed to do passably well, but Massie was still embarrassed. Glaring at her mother, who looked a little embarrassed herself, Massie stood up and stomped out away from the tables where the manly conversation mix of work and sports just beginning. She'd been polite enough to everyone who congratulated her on graduating middle school, but her patience was running dangerously low.

She made her way to the far side of the house, over to the pool where she dangled her legs in, breathing fresh air for the first time all afternoon. She glanced at the flourishing garden nearby, her childhood tree house and swing on the tree behind her, and the weathered ping pong table off to the side, contentment settling over her.

In a week, Massie would be on a flight to Cancun with her four best friends, shopping, hiking, sunbathing, meeting cute boys, and having the time of her life. An all expenses paid graduation present from The Blocks, Marvils, and Riveras. The only chaperones would be Isaac and Dean, but they wouldn't be too hard to get around. _Just one more week…_

Fourth of July was supposed to be a major holiday, you know? A time of celebration and joy. Happy birthday America. All that. Instead, all she felt was dread. It was still light out and they had only just started eating. She would have to suffer for so much longer… She let out a groan and leaned back on her elbows while tilting her head back to look up, expecting to see the cloudless blue sky.

"!" she let out an enormous shriek when she found good old Derrick Harrington himself standing over here. She just barely noticed the chatter in the distance pausing for a moment before resuming full force.

"Wha—, what are you doing?" She exclaimed, just as forcefully but not as loudly, between breaths. She'd waved to him when he'd come in, but other than that, she'd been too preoccupied and annoyed to remember he was there.

"Sorry," Derrick smiled sheepishly, and shrugged. A curl of his shaggy hair fell into his eyes, and he shook his head to move it. It was almost adorable. Almost. "I was just getting so tired of sitting in there and listening to my parents talk to people I don't know. I saw you sneak over here, and…" his sheepish look grew. "I really didn't mean to scare you. I'm so sorry about that."

Her breath finally normal from the scare, she looked into his warm brown eyes only to find complete sincerity. So she shrugged.

"Yup, it gets pretty boring over there, I can at least sympathize with that," she replied calmly, swinging her legs in the water. She pulled off the nonchalant act perfectly, unsure now where they stood. She had missed him so much last year when she was alone, but that was in the distant past. They hadn't talked much over the year, and out of sight, out of mind.

He took it as a cue to join her, sitting down and plopping his feet heavily into the water.

"Derrick!" She squealed as she got splashed. "Are you _trying_ to piss me off?" She sent a very effective glare in his direction, and his face contorted into one of an ashamed puppy dog.

"Oh, Massie… How will you ever forgive me? I am so, so sorry, I guess I wasn't thinking…" He trailed off and actually put his head in his hands, causing her to fight a giggle that she wasn't expecting.

There was an awkward few minutes while she tried to figure out what to do. He was still sitting there, silent and embarrassed. What's a girl to do? She couldn't get up and leave, that would be overly rude. And she definitely couldn't stand sitting there in silence for one moment longer with him looking so depressed.

She opened her mouth to say something—anything—to break the silence, when he finally lifted his head a bit and peered out at her from between his fingers, his hands still over his face. It was such a sheepish, apologetic look that she burst out laughing.

"Derrick, you are too funny," she said when she'd calmed down a bit. He chuckled along with her and shrugged. She was pleasantly surprised at how comfortable he could make her feel, aside from the first few minutes.

"So, how was your year?" he asked to make conversation. He'd given her a quick hug at OCD's graduation, and she had returned the favor at Briarwood's, but they'd barely spoken.

"Oh, really good, you know," she replied, "it was fun. But I'm more excited for high school."

"Yea, me too. The soccer team is supposed to be really great," Derrick gushed, and he could tell he was genuinely excited. Suddenly what seemed like such an obnoxious obsession when they were younger now seemed cool.

"Nice! Next year is going to be so awesome," she agreed, deciding that she was looking forward to being in the same school with him again.

"Hey, here's an idea, how about we stick together?" He suggested, and she raised her eyebrows a little, "You know, like your friends and mine banded together against the hardships of freshman year!"

She had to giggle at that too, but agreed it was a good idea. "Done," she nodded once, earning a broad smile. His smile was much nicer than she'd ever given him credit for.

She couldn't pin point exactly when it happened, but suddenly she was actively happy to be spending time with Derrick. He was goofy, charming, and had gotten distinctly better looking over the last few years. They fell into easy conversation, and she dropped her nonchalant act and showed her enthusiasm to everything he said.

There was a brief moment of silence, and Massie knew exactly what she wanted to do to commemorate her last summer before high school.

"Derrick, do you want to help me water the garden?" She got up and shook the water off her legs and he did the same.

"Sure, let's go," he led the way over to her garden. They made their way around, making sure each plant got sufficient liquid, before Massie turned and splashed Derrick with the hose. His white Men's National Team soccer jersey clung to his torso, showing off a nicely developing set of stomach muscles.

Before she knew it, she was drenched as well, and the watering can Derrick had been holding lay empty on the ground. She thought about being angry about her designer navy blue halter, but decided that would be less fun than continuing her plan.

After they stopped laughing, Massie challenged him to a race to the tree house. He beat her to the tree, but like a true gentleman, allowed her to climb the ladder first and claim the victory. She however, pulled up the ladder before he could follow her, and then leaned out the window and stuck her tongue out childishly.

"Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair!" He bellowed, much to her amusement.

She let down the ladder and he clambered on up.

"Whoa, this is nice," he admired, "I don't think I've actually been up here before." She felt sorry for a split second, before remembering that's why she was doing this.

"I used to spend so much time looking out this window," she said wistfully, and he came and joined her, taking in the view together.

After a few moments of comfortable silence, Massie was on the move again, down the ladder and over to the ping pong table. Derrick had to put in extra effort to keep up. Massie couldn't quite figure out why she felt the need to relive all her summers she could remember up to this point, but it seemed like the right thing to do, now that a new chapter of life was set to begin. Also, there was a chance she felt an itty bit mean about how she'd treated Derrick every summer. He was a good guy, and she'd been rude to him on multiple occasions.

"You serve first," she handed him the lightweight ball and got into position. He had gotten significantly better at the sport since their last faceoff, and she was impressed. He had a few really good serves, but most of the time they would go back and forth for a while until Massie usually won.

"And the most improved player award goes to…" she said, announcer style, as they shook hands after the game. His eyes widened. Derrick, of course had realized that each of these events were things they had done together previous summers. But he'd thought that maybe she just wanted to use everything in her childhood play yard before moving on in the world. He was elated to realize she remembered everything just as well as he did, and maybe even felt sorry. The wide grin covered his face then.

"I guess that means you'd like a push on the swings now," he raised his eyebrows teasingly. She just nodded and skipped over to the swing, feeling like a kid again.

"WHEEEEEEEEEEEE!" She let out when she was flying high, with no regard to what the barbecue guests would think. She had only just realized over the course of the evening that high school would be scary and she wanted to hang on to what she could of her childhood while she could.

And then the funniest thing happened: Derrick got whacked in the face with her hair again. For some reason this made her laugh so hard, and while he was rolling on the ground cluthing his right eye that apparently was a victim, it took her forever to get it together enough to slow the swing down and check if he was ok.

"Derrick, Derrick are you alright?" she exclaimed worriedly as she finally hurried to his side.

"Well, I…" he started, and then winced. She felt bad now, for laughing at his pain. "GOTCHA!" he yelled, sitting up, and she almost punched him. Noting her death glare, he protested, "hey, just returning the favor! I know you used to pretend that I hurt you just so you could get away from me," he shrugged, daring her to deny it.

"Busted," she giggled, and gave a sheepish smile. "Sorry about that. It won't happen again, pinky promise," she held out her pinky. At first he looked apprehensive, but then he gave a smile with some extra look in his gorgeous eyes that she couldn't decipher.

"Truth or dare time," she uttered quietly, finally tearing her gaze from his. Something had passed between them just now, although she wouldn't be able to say exactly what. All she knew was that somehow, he looked different; not appearance-wise but just his being.

"I think," Derrick started slowly, "that it is only fitting if we both answer the same question that was used last time. You can go first. What do you truly think of me?"

Massie thought for a moment about just how truthful to be, but this was truth or dare, and he was sending her all the right signals, anyway.

"Well," she began, "I definitely don't think of you as slimy anymore!" At this he let out nerve-diffusing chuckle. "I think that you are a genuinely nice and sweet guy, and you can make me laugh. So, truthfully," she paused, deciding to go for it, "I think you're a really cool guy. And maybe, possibly, I've developed a crush on you within the last two hours," she rushed the last sentence, but forced herself to meet his eyes.

His smile came out full force the second the word "crush" left her mouth.

"Excuse me one moment," he grasped her hand for a moment and smiled apologetically, before getting up and climbing back into the treehouse, sticking his head out the big window, and yelling "YES!" as loud as he could, for everyone to hear. She should have been embarrassed, but all she could do was grin goofily up at him.

He was back down the ladder and by her side in a flash, and took her hand in his again.

"Massie," he said, looking her dead in the eye with a very serious expression on his face, "you have absolutely NO idea how long I've been waiting to hear that."

It was touching how sweet and sincere he was, and she was very flattered that he was clearly into her. But his statement was false. "I think I have a pretty good idea," she tilted her head slightly, returning the honesty gaze.

"You mean you've known all along that I liked you and you didn't think before now that maybe you should let the past go enough to like me back?" He asked, hurt and anger taking over his chiseled features.

"Oh, no," she was quick to reassure him, "but reliving all those moments with you just brought the memories back so much more clearly than they've ever been, and I realized how in each one, you seemed to have a thing for me. I can see it all now, and I'm so sorry for the times I worked so hard to get rid of you." She changed positions so that she was lying with her head in his lap, gazing up at him. His jersey was still a little damp, but he smelled good, so she took another whiff.

"It was worth it," he replied, nothing but adoration in his eyes, "for a moment like this." She wanted to giggle because it was so cheesy, but she knew he meant it.

As the sky darkened overhead and the fireworks boomed, they both knew that while they had very much enjoyed their childhood years, they were ready to move on to high school and whatever lay beyond—together.

* * *

><p><em>Thanks for reading it, guys! I hope you liked it! I think maybe it sort of had too much going on, but maybe not. Anywayyyy hope everyone had a lovely 4th and is enjoying summer!<em>

_Hugs, Sky_


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